A fundamental requirement of product display racks used in a retail environment is that they present the product in an aesthetically pleasing and readily accessible manner in order to promote product sales. However, in order to minimize loss of revenue due to shoplifting, the rack should also provide some means of indicating when products have been removed from the rack for the purpose of theft rather than for purchase.
Approaches to the problem of shoplifting from display racks include placing the product behind transparent barriers with apertures that are large enough for the human hand but too small to remove a product displayed in the rack. When a consumer chooses a product, he or she is required to request the aid of a salesperson to unlock the transparent barrier allowing removal of the product. The barrier may present an unacceptable aesthetic impression of the product which will result in lost sales. Also, requiring a customer to request assistance in choosing a product will also result in lost sales.
Often, transparent barriers are provided on display racks which allow stacked products to be removed one at a time from the bottom of the stack. The products are removable only through a slot or the like in the transparent barrier aligned with the bottom of the stack of products. Requiring products to be removed only one at a time clearly discourages multiple product purchases.
Other approaches display products on a rack with the products being captured by a slidable retainer or the like. If the slidable retainer is moved without proper authorization, an electrical circuit is interrupted and an alarm is sounded. Once again, this display rack requires intervention of a salesperson in order to deactivate the alarm system for legitimate product removal.
Therefore, product display racks which provide protection against shoplifting either present an intimidating display by enclosing the product in a protective barrier, or require the intervention of a salesperson to facilitate legitimate removal of product, or both. These anti-theft features combine to necessarily reduce product sales.